U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,898 B2 discloses a chassis control system for a motor vehicle in which the stiffness of a suspension system is variable according to the driver's wish. In order to prevent a safety hazard which might arise if the driver selects a stiffness setting which is ill-suited for the current state of motion of the vehicle, this conventional suspension system monitors the state of motion of the vehicle and refuses to change the stiffness settings if these are found not to be appropriate for the current state of motion of the vehicle. Such a suspension control system enables the driver to adapt the behavior of the suspension system to his personal taste. A driver fancying a sporty driving style may want a rather high stiffness of the suspension in order to improve the grip of the vehicle on the road surface, so that the movement of the vehicle can be controlled precisely, even if curves are driven through at high speed. At another time, the same driver may prefer a softer setting of the suspension system, although this may require him to go through curves at a moderate speed. In any case, any change in the settings of the suspension system requires a conscious decision by the driver. Since the driver must continuously heed the traffic around him, it is not practical for him to repeat this decision at a high rate. The state of motion of the vehicle will therefore change many times from cornering to straight line driving, from cruising to accelerating or braking, etc., without the driver being able to adapt the suspension settings to each of these states. In consequence, if the driver has chosen a soft setting for the suspension system, it is maybe very comfortable for cruising, but in case of fast braking or accelerating or going fast through a narrow curve, the vehicle may become difficult to handle. If the driver has selected a stiff setting in order to prepare for eventual fast cornering maneuvers, comfort is reduced while the vehicle is cruising.
In view of the foregoing, it is at least one object of the present invention is to remedy this defect and to provide a suspension control system and a control method which allowed to combine excellent cornering maneuverability with a high degree of comfort. In addition, other objects, desirable features, and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.